As Toffeeman said the simple answer is yes although there is a big 'if'. The 'first choice' 11 is capable of matching anyone in this league but as recent events have shown we lack strength in depth. It is massively noticeable how much better we have been with the return of the likes of Ashley, Jermaine and Leavi but when we lose the better players to injury and suspension etc I don't think the same quality is there.

That seems harsh on the lads who were brought in and I'm not saying they are inferior players but they lack the experience at this level. We don't have the money to bring in experience and it takes time for them to get to the required standard. Look how far Jermaine and Leavi have come but it has obviously taken time for them to get where they are now, probably two of the better players at this level (along with Ashley Sammons).

So, with few (or no) injury problems, few (or no) suspension problems combined with a bit of luck at the right moments then yes we can. But the big question as Toffeeman also said is - can we afford it ?

Talking to my brother, the Juniors are going from strength to strength and if the club do ever install the 4G pitch to generate more income...then for sure we will be in a much stronger financial position than the last time we played in the Conf North.

The aged old question will always be if it is better to struggle at a higher level rather than be 'successful' at a lower level...

My philosophy is always to try and play at the highest level possible.....

I would love to see us at the highest level i am lucky enough to have seen us play european football well ok anglo italian cup and play in what is now the conference premier but that as we know almost killed the club off and we were minutes away from the end of the road. That was all brought on by poor off field management plus the expense of bringing the valley to the standards required then. Compared to then the valley is now like wembley, but of course the standards required to move up are getting silly. As we know getting knocked out of the FA Cup so early year after year is costing us big time then we have yet another break in recently which costs the club thousands of pounds to put right and this is not a one of but our fifth break in in two years no one can put up with that so instead of investing in the team our ground we have to repair the damage to the club. The valley cannot be improved on and a new ground is dead in the water thanks to our beloved council, so how do we get to the next level? Mr Swann has done a marvellous job but unless we get major investment from elsewhere our the council change their mind and fat chance of that, it breaks my heart to say it but Redditch United are at level we are stuck at. The best we can hope for is to be on the edge of the play offs and a cup run and win a county cup our league cup and bring on talent and sell them onto other clubs to keep us going. We do have a good crop of young players who deserve to be at a higher level and good young manager who will definatley be at a higher level sooner rather than later hopefully with us, and best of all the fans who deserve to be at a higher level for your loyality.

Last edited by toffeeman on Sun Oct 19, 2014 6:11 am; edited 1 time in total

If we look at the starting line up when everyone is fit (Molyenux aside because of the long term nature of his injury) then there is a backbone of a team who can beat anyone at this level. Since Hylton has come back from injury, he has returned to the player he was at the end of last season, and we have a back four that is stronger, as a unit, than any since the days of Exodus and Asa. The key is going to be the players who are on the fringes, (Spink, Spencer, Caines etc.), as we cannot hope to keep injury free all season.

As for being able to afford it, would we actually need to splash out on many new signings? If we kept this team together again then I feel like they would be able to step up to this next level. The development of Caines over last season and Loveridge since last season has really shown that Liam is a manager than can develop youth players to perform to the best of their ability. If we keep Liam, and the squad, then I believe we could hold our own in the North.